Johnny Manziel Blew His Chance to Get NFL’s Attention
By Erik Lambert
Despite everything that’s happened up to this point, former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel still had enough time to recover his pro career.
Everything about the 2018 off-season for him was dedicated towards one goal. He must do whatever it takes to convince NFL teams that he’s turned a corner personally and is ready for another chance at fulfilling at least some of the expectations from back when he was a 1st round pick. To do that he needed to get in front of scouts as often as possible and work on his game.
Through the early parts of the process, he was having success at this. He helped out at two different pro days as a capable arm for the wide receivers including at Texas A&M. During that time he did nothing to draw attention away from the other players. He was merely helping out and appreciating the chance to appear in front of the cameras.
Unfortunately, there were bigger tests to come. Tests to see whether he truly had learned anything during his time away. Based on initial impressions? He failed.
Johnny Manziel slammed Browns and then played poorly
The first blunder came during an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show. Manziel clearly wasn’t trying to stir anything up or be disrespectful. He was trying to be honest. Still, that may have been a grave miscalculation. He was asked about what happened in Cleveland before and after he was drafted. His answer reflected less poorly on the Browns than on himself.
"If Cleveland did any of their homework they would have known I wasn't a guy who came in every day and watch film. I wasn't a guy who really knew the X's and O's of football." - Johnny Manziel on @dpshow
— Andrew Perloff (@andrewperloff) April 4, 2018
Honest though it was, and true, teams don’t like it when a player openly criticizes decisions and puts the blame on others. It wasn’t a crippling mistake by Manziel but certainly one that didn’t help his cause. Thankfully there was still an ace up his sleeve. Not too long after he would appear in the new Spring League opening down in Texas. If he could deliver a strong performance against second-rate competition and look like a more polished passer, that could really get the buzz going.
It didn’t work out.
In his first time playing competitive football in forever, Johnny Manziel was 9 of 15 for 83 yards and a TD, while taking 3 sacks in about 2 quarters of Spring League play: https://t.co/MiIvCfAC6B
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 8, 2018
Manziel looked like his old self at times during the game, making a spectacular scramble play in the red zone for his touchdown pass. Then he also looked like his NFL version. The one who didn’t operate well from the pocket and allowed pressure to set in too often. His inability to make quick reads and decisions was still evident.
Next: 2018 NFL Mock Draft: The Quarterback Wars Rage in Top 10
In fairness, Manziel hadn’t played an actual game in two years. Rust could’ve played a factor but again. Given the competition he faced and the fact he was trying to send a message about how he’s changed? This must constitute a failure. Manziel may still find his way to the NFL, but his best chance to get people on his side has been lost.